CHARLOTTE, NC—Fort Lauderdale, FL-based Stiles has opened a Charlotte office to house a team executing new development projects in the Southeastern state. The move marks Stiles' first office in the Carolinas and will serve as a hub for further expansion in the region.

Stiles' Charlotte office offer commercial real estate development services for the office, residential, retail, and mixed-use market segments. Scott MacLaren was named president of North Carolina operations. This North Carolina team is tasked with sourcing new acquisition and development opportunities across the Southeast.

“Establishing this office and professional development team solidified our presence in North Carolina while setting us on our way to meet all of our investment goals in the region,” says MacLaren. “We hope to build our presence here steadily and organically, with the addition of top local talent who can help us to carry out our current projects in the market while we actively acquire properties for future development.”

MacLaren is primarily focused on development and redevelopment of neighborhood shopping centers and mixed-use projects as well as the acquisition of value-add commercial real estate properties and new land inventory. Prior to this position, MacLaren served as senior vice president of Stiles Real Estate Investments, pursuing new retail and multifamily development opportunities in Florida.

Chris Grenier, who Stiles recently promoted to vice president of Development and Construction, and Beth Middleton, who joined Stiles in July 2013 as a Development Manager, will work with MacLaren in North Carolina. Currently, Stiles is developing  three Publix-anchored shopping centers totaling more than 200,000 square feet—Ballantyne Shopping Center at 11222 Providence Road West, Mint Hill Commons in downtown Mint Hill, and Shops at Southline at 2222 South Boulevard in historic South End—and has several others in the pipeline.